Friday 9 April 2021
Thursday 22 October 2020
Wednesday 12 August 2020
Lebanon's government steps down in wake of Beirut blast
Lebanon's government stepped down on Monday night, less than a week after a massive explosion in Beirut killed more than 170 people and wounded more than 6000, sparking days of violent protests.
Prime
Minister Hassan Diab addressed the nation, announcing his resignation
and that of his government in the wake of the blast, which he called a
"disaster beyond measure."
In
an impassioned speech, Diab berated Lebanon's ruling political elite
for fostering what he called "an apparatus of corruption bigger than the
state."
"We
have fought valiantly and with dignity," he said, referring to members
of his cabinet. "Between us and change is big powerful barrier."
Diab
compared Tuesday's explosion to an "earthquake that rocked the country"
prompting his government to resign. "We have decided to stand with the
people," he said.
Three cabinet ministers had already quit, along with seven members of parliament.
Violent protests erupted outside the prime minister's office in the run-up to the scheduled speech on Monday evening.
Dozens
of protesters hurled stones, fireworks and Molotov cocktails at
security forces who responded with several rounds of tear gas. Some
demonstrators tried to scale the blast walls outside Parliament Square.
Lebanon
was already suffering through its worst economic crisis in decades,
coupled with rising coronavirus rates, and the government has been
plagued by accusations of corruption and gross mismanagement.
Tuesday's blast, which damaged or destroyed much of the Lebanese capital and was linked to a long-neglected stash of potentially explosive chemicals, was the last straw for many Beirut residents.
Diab, a self-styled reformer, was ushered into power
last December, two months after a popular uprising brought down the
previous government. His government is composed of technocrats and had
been supported by major political parties, including the Iran-backed
political and militant group Hezbollah.
Now
the country will be tasked with finding its third prime minister in
less than a year, to contend with the spiraling crises Lebanon faces on a
number of fronts.
Source: CNN
Saturday 9 November 2019
PM inaugurates Kartarpur corridor, flags off first jatha of pilgrims & thanks Imran Khan for understanding India's sentiment
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Kartarpur corridor here and flagged off the first batch of over 500 Indian pilgrims. PM Modi also thanked his Pakistan counterpart Imran Khan for understanding India's sentiment on the issue of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.
The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in this Punjab district.
Source: ET
The corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, to Dera Baba Nanak shrine in this Punjab district.
Source: ET
Ayodhya verdict: Disputed land goes to Hindus, Muslims to get alternate land
Nine years after the Allahabad High Court ruling, the Supreme Court on Saturday ruled that the Hindus would get the entire disputed 2.77 acres in Ayodhya.
This is the land on which the now demolished Babri Masjid once stood. The Muslims will get alternate land either in the surplus 67 acres acquired in and around the disputed structure by the central govt or any other prominent place.
The entire 2.77 acres will remain with the receiver and will be handed over to a trust to be formed in 3 months to build a temple. The Nirmohi Akhara is not the sebait, the court held. Instead it will get to be a member of the trust.
The court said that it was not ruling on faith but the fact that Muslim possession over the inner courtyard was always contested by the Hindus who continued to pray at the spot.
A bench led by CJI Ranjan Gogoi delivered the verdict. He was sitting alongside CJI designate S.A. Bobde, and Justices D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S.A. Nazeer. The verdict was unanimous.
The Allahabad High Court had in 2010 partitioned the land between Hindus and Muslims in a 2:1 ratio.
The deity, Ram Lalla, and the sebait, the Nirmohi Akhara, had got two shares. The Uttar Pradesh Sunni central Wakf Board got a third of the share.
The land on which the now demolished Babri Masjid structure once stood went to the Ram Lalla. The Ram Chabutra and the Sita Rasoi went to the Akhara.
The Muslims were to get a share after adjustment by metes and bounds for exit and entry into each person's share.
Both parties were unhappy with the judgement and had appealed to the top court. The court had stayed the judgement.
The issue remained pending till BJP leader Subramanian Swamy -- though not a party -- pressed for a hearing.
Former CJI J.S. Khehar then took it up and even offered to personally mediate between the two sides.
He later backtracked when he realised Swamy was not a party to the case.
His successor former CJI Dipak Misra tried to hear the case but it was stymied by a plea by the Muslim side which insisted on a hearing to reexamine the Ismail Faruqui judgement which it said would prejudice its claims over the Babri Masjid.
The court eventually refused to reopen the case which had held that mosques were not essential to worship in Islam.
The CJI Misra had set up a three judge bench to hear the title suit. But CJI Gogoi rescinded that judicial order to set up a five judge bench to hear it. The case was heard for over 40 working days, possibly one of the longest in the court.
The Hindus had claimed that they had been continously worshipping at the spot where the masjid stood, a claim contested by the Muslims who claimed that a mosque stood on the spot since 1528.
source: ET
Wednesday 6 November 2019
Microsoft Japan tested a four-day work week and productivity jumped by 40%
Microsoft tested out a four-day work week in its Japan offices and found as a result employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive.
For the month of August, Microsoft Japan experimented with a new project called Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019, giving its entire 2,300-person workforce five Fridays off in a row without decreasing pay.
The shortened weeks led to more efficient meetings, happier workers and boosted productivity by a staggering 40%, the company concluded at the end of the trial. As part of the program, the company had also planned to subsidize family vacations for employees up to ¥100,000 or $920.
“Work a short time, rest well and learn a lot,” Microsoft Japan president and CEO Takuya Hirano said in a statement to Microsoft Japan’s website. “I want employees to think about and experience how they can achieve the same results with 20% less working time.”
source: theguardian
US, Canada, Australia approach WTO after India bans import of pulses
Canada, Australia and the USA have moved the World Trade Organisation (WTO), raising objections over ban on import of certain pulses by India to check falling prices in the domestic market.
They have also submitted fresh questions on the validity of the steps taken by India under global trade rules and asked New Delhi to justify the restrictions under the WTO rules.
India is the biggest producer and consumer of pulses and consumes about 240 lakh tonnes of pulses a year.
Vimal Kothari, Vice-President of the India Pulses and Grains Association, said India had reduced pulses' import from 60 lakh tonnes to 15-20 lakh tonnes.
"India is moving towards self-reliance in production of pulses. The import ban is necessary to provide the best prices to farmers. But moong and urad crops have been damaged due to excessive rain this year, which will be compensated by import," Kothari said.
SOURCE: BS
Air Quality Index; Delhi air pollution: Deadly smog envelops city, AQI breaches 858 at some places
The Air Quality Index, or AQI, is a system of colors and numbers used to communicate the air quality in a region. The AQI color scheme starts with green for healthy air through maroon for the unhealthiest level. Likewise, AQI numbers go from healthiest (0-50) to unhealthiest (300+).
Yogi Adityanath allots Rs 447 cr to buy land for Lord Ram statue, centre
The Yogi Adityanath government has allotted Rs 447 cr for acquisition of 61 hectares in Ayodhya to house the world’s tallest 251-metre high statue of Lord Ram. This is apart from the Rs 200 cr sanctioned earlier this year for carrying out technical studies for building the statue.
The state cabinet, while taking these decisions on Friday ahead of the much-anticipated Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Jamambhoomi case, has also “authorised” the chief minister to henceforth take any decision in respect of the Lord Ram’s statue. UP minister Shrikant Sharma on Friday said the cabinet approved a proposal to acquire 61 hectares in Ayodhya’s Mirpur village for Rs 447.46 crore where the Lord Ram statue, a digital museum, an interpretation centre, a library, a food plaza, parking, landscaping and other associated tourist facilities will come up. “This project is being modeled on the Sardar Patel statue project in Gujarat,” Sharma said. The Patel statue stands at 183-feet.
Sharma said that out of the Rs 200 crore approved earlier this year for carrying out a detailed project report, wind tunnel and design studies for the statue, Rs 100 crore has been released, implying that the work for the project can start now. Detailed studies of the soil strength and wind-speed at the site have to be conducted to ensure that the statue can be built here.
SOURCE: ET
First time in India's history, employment slumps 9 million in six years: Azim Premji University
Total employment in India dropped by 9 million between 2011-12 and 2017-18, a first in the country's history, a paper published by Azim Premji University says. The new academic paper titled 'India's Employment Crisis: Rising Education Levels and Falling Non-Agricultural Job Growth' said that employment fell from 474 million in 2011-12 to 465 million in 2017-18. "Total employment during 2011-12 and 2017-18 declined by 9 million. This happened for the first time in India's history," the study said.
The paper is written by Santosh Mehrotra and Jajati K Parida and published by the Centre of Sustainable Employment at the Azim Premji University. Mehrotra teaches Economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University while Parida is a Professor at the Central University of Punjab.
"The Indian economy is passing through an unprecedented phase in its employment history, in which total employment (Workforce) is declining, and open unemployed and disheartened Not-in-Labour Force-Education-Training" (NLET) youth (a reserve army) are rising massively," the paper added.
SOURCE: businesstoday
Thursday 24 October 2019
COCA-COLA NAMED MOST POLLUTING BRAND IN GLOBAL AUDIT OF PLASTIC WASTE
COCA-COLA WAS found for the second year in a row to be the most polluting brand in a global audit of plastic trash conducted by the Break Free From Plastic global movement. The giant soda company was responsible for more plastic litter than the next top three polluters combined.
More than 72,000 volunteers fanned out onto beaches, paddled along waterways, and walked along streets near their offices and homes picking up plastic bottles, cups, wrappers, bags, and scraps for the one-day cleanup in September that was the basis for the audit. Sorting through the mounds of garbage, they found that the plastic represented 50 different types and could be traced back to almost 8,000 brands. Coke was responsible for 11,732 pieces of plastic litter found in 37 countries on four continents. After Coca-Cola, the next biggest contributors to the plastic pollution in the audit were Nestle, PepsiCo, Mondelez International — purveyor of snack brands like Oreo, Ritz, Nabisco, and Nutter Butter — and Unilever. More than half of the plastic had eroded to the point where it was impossible to discern who had produced it.
Coke was the top source of plastic in Africa and Europe and the second largest source in Asia and South America. In North America, the company responsible for the most plastic found in the cleanups was Nestle, followed by the Solo Cup Company, owned by the Dart Container corporation, and Starbucks. Coca-Cola ranked fifth among the companies responsible for plastic waste in North America.
Coca-Cola responded to questions about the brand audit with an emailed statement: “Any time our packaging ends up in our oceans — or anywhere that it doesn’t belong — is unacceptable to us. In partnership with others, we are working to address this critical global issue, both to help turn off the tap in terms of plastic waste entering our oceans and to help clean up the existing pollution.”
source: the intercept
Wednesday 23 October 2019
At 276 AQI, Kashi most polluted city in country
According to the data released by the Central Pollution Control Board, Varanasi was the most polluted city with air quality index (AQI) touching 276, followed by Lucknow (AQI 269), Muzaffarnagar (AQI 266), Yamunanagar in Haryana (AQI 264) and Moradabad (AQI 256).
Tuesday 22 October 2019
8.8 Lakh Children Under 5 Yrs Died In India In 2018, Highest In World: UNICEF
India reported the most number of deaths of children below five years in 2018, at 8,82,000, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in its report released on October 16 said.
Nigeria recorded the highest number of deaths (8,66,000), followed by Pakistan (4,09,000) deaths.
The report titled “State of the World’s Children 2019”, highlighted an alarmingly rise in the number of children suffering from malnutrition. According to the report, 69 per cent of deaths of children below the age of five are caused due to malnutrition.
The report which is first in 20 years by UNICEF on child nutrition comes on the heels of the Global Hunger Index report.
The UNICEF report highlights that every second child below the age of five in the country is affected by some form of malnutrition.
This includes stunting – 35 per cent, wasting – 17 per cent, and overweight – 2 per cent. Only 42 per cent of children in the age group between 6 to 23 months are fed at an adequate frequency, whereas only 21 per cent receive a proper diverse diet.
source: The logical Indian
PMC Bank crisis claims 5th life; 70-year-old dies of cardiac arrest
Another Mumbai family has been bereaved by the PMC Bank scam as a 73-year-old woman whose daughter and son-in-law held vast deposits in the scam-hit bank died of a heart attack.
Bharati Sadarangani died after a sudden heart attack around 2pm on Sunday. She was reportedly really worried for her family’s future as her daughter and son-in-law had deposits worth Rs 2.5 crore in the bank.
"She did not suffer from any ailment so this instant cardiac arrest that killed her was most likely precipitated by the bank collapse. My wife Hema would share her worries with her over the phone and we suspect my mother-in-law took this hard," her son-in-law Chandan Chotrani told the Times of India.
This is the fifth death that is claimed to be related to the PMC Bank collapse. Sanjay Gulati and Nivedita Bijlani, who both lived in Andheri, and Murlidhar Dharra and Fattomal Punjabi of Mulund Colony, had died in the last couple of weeks. While Nivedita Bijlani committed suicide, the other three died of heart attack.
It has been more than a month since the RBI clamped down on the operations of the PMC Bank and capped withdrawals by account holders. While the initial limit was just Rs 1,000 for six months, this has slowly been increased to Rs 40,000 after protests.
But the depositors say their woes have only worsened, as many fear that they might lose their lifetime earnings deposited in savings accounts, or in the form of fixed deposits.
souurce; news18
88 Kg Gold, Forex Among Rs 500 Crore Worth Assets Recovered In I-T Raids On Self-Styled Godman Kalki Bhagavan
source: Indiatimes
Income Tax Department has found undisclosed income worth Rs 500 crore and links to investments in tax havens by self-styled godman Kalki Bhagwan, his family, and trusts run by them during a massive search operation covering 40 premises across various states.
Born as Vijay Kumar Naidu in Ullanatham Village in Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, he began his career as a clerk with LIC. He later quit his job and turned into spiritually and declared himself Kalki Bhagavan. He set up his Oneness Temple in the early 1980s and preached what he called 'oneness philosophy'.
What Privacy? India Is Among The Top Three Surveillance States In The World, Claims Report
According to UK-based research firm Compritech, India is one of the top three biggest surveillance states, behind only China and Russia when it comes to spying on citizens.
India scored 2.4 out of 5 on the company's privacy index, which translates to a "systemic failure to maintain privacy safeguards." Russia rated similar.
China rated as having "extensive" surveillance, while Thailand and Malaysia rated #4 and #5 with "some safeguards but weakened protections".
The survey was conducted across 47 countries, with Compritech measuring various factors like constitutional protections, privacy enforcement, biometrics, data sharing, government access to data, and more.
For one thing, India's constitution assures a right to privacy, but the lengths of it are not defined. For instance, the Aadhaar identification system has been government-mandated, which forces the collection of biometric data from citizens, and then links it to their government ID, banking systems, and more. On top of that, the Aadhaar system has been breached multiple times as well, showing that all the private data of citizens being taken from them is not even kept secured.
Then there's the recent indication that the government wants to monitor WhatsApp and be able to track and trace messages sent across the platform. They're trying to strong arm the company to break its encryption, so they can keep track of messages, supposedly to crack down on the fake news problem.
source: Indiatimes
Thursday 17 October 2019
Parle Biscuits profit up in FY19, months after seeking GST rate cut amid slowdown
Months after the biscuit manufacturers asked the government for a GST rate cut to boost slowing demand, Parle Biscuits posted 15.2 per cent on-year growth to Rs 410 crore in net profit for FY19.
Months after the biscuit manufacturers asked the government for a GST rate cut to boost slowing demand, Parle Biscuits posted 15.2 per cent on-year growth to Rs 410 crore in net profit for FY19, business platform Tofler data showed. Parle Biscuits reported a profit of Rs 355 crore in the previous year. While revenue grew over 6 per cent to Rs 9,030 crore, the revenue from operations surged about 6 per cent to Rs 8,780 crore as against the last year, the data also showed. In August this year, the company had said that it may cut 10,000 employees in the ranks owing to muted biscuit demand. Parle Products declined to comment to the Financial Express Online queries.
In a recent interview, Mayank Shah, senior category head, Parle Products told Financial Express Online that while sales were down for its standard biscuits which sell for less than Rs 100 per kg, the company has done well in its premium line up which consists of Milano, Hide & Seek, and Bourbon. “Parle has seen an 8-10% jump in its premium biscuits sale even amid slowdown,” Mayank Shah, told Financial Express Online a week back.
source: FE
Wednesday 16 October 2019
India At 102 In Hunger Index Of 117 Nations, Below Pak, Nepal, Bangladesh
India is behind its neighbours Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh in a list of 117 countries that tracks hunger and malnutrition, according to a report released by two international non-profits that work for humanitarian aid.
The Global Hunger Index or GHI scores countries on a 100-point "severity scale", where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. "With a score of 30.3, India suffers from a level of hunger that is serious," the report says.
India fell from 55 in 2014 to 102 in 2019 in the GHI. However, the number of countries has differed from year to year. India ranked 55 out of 76 nations in 2014, 100 out of 119 countries in 2017, and 103 out of 119 countries in 2018. This year's report calculated the index from a sample of 117 nations and India came on 102.
The Global Hunger Index or GHI scores countries on a 100-point "severity scale", where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. India scored 102 out of 117 countries.
The Global Hunger Index or GHI scores countries on a 100-point "severity scale", where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. India scored 102 out of 117 countries.
source: NDTV
Indian economy doing very badly, says Nobel awardee Abhijit Banerjee
HIGHLIGHTS
- Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Harvard professor Michael Kremer jointly won the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize
- They won the prize for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty
- Abhijit Banerjee (58) works at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Third Death In 2 Days! Now A Mumbai Doctor With Rs 1 Cr Deposit In PMC Bank Commits Suicide
A 39-year-old doctor from Mumbai who was an account holder in the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank (PMC) was found dead in her house in what appears to be a case of suicide.
Dr. Nivedita Bijlani allegedly ended her life on Monday evening by consuming an overdose of sleeping pills at her residence in suburban Versova.
According to the police, she had a deposit of over Rs 1 crore in her PMC bank account.
Earlier, another depositor, identified as Sanjay Gulati had died on Monday of a heart attack, hours after attending a protest by distressed customers of the bank outside a Mumbai court.
On Tuesday, another PMC Bank account holder, identified as Fattomal Punjabi, had died. His family alleged that Punjabi died of a cardiac arrest on Tuesday due to stress. He too had taken part in protests held by depositors demanding the return of their money.
source: IndiatimesBajaj chetak is back with e version
The Bajaj Chetak makes a comeback after 14 years, this time. But this time, it's on an electric two-wheeler.
Production for the scooter began on September 25, 2019, and Bajaj has said that the electric Chetak's price will be revealed at its Pune launch in January 2020. The scooter will be positioned as a premium product and Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto was quoted as saying, "I hesitate to call it an aggressive price, but we'll price it attractively. It's not going to be as high as Rs 1.5 lakh."
The e-scooter also has two riding modes – Eco and Sport – and it will have a reverse assist feature as well. Range is quoted at 85km and 95km in Sport and Eco modes, respectively. Bajaj points out that these figures were achieved through real-world testing within Pune city and that the ARAI test figures will be much higher.
The scooter has an in-built charger and the vehicle can be charged using a regular 5-ampere home power outlet. There will be no DC fast charging feature (Bajaj says the range is adequate enough to not require this feature) and a full charge will take around five hours. Bajaj says they will also sell a home-charging station at a ‘nominal cost’ and this charger will also show the amount of energy consumed during charging.
source: autocarindia
Production for the scooter began on September 25, 2019, and Bajaj has said that the electric Chetak's price will be revealed at its Pune launch in January 2020. The scooter will be positioned as a premium product and Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto was quoted as saying, "I hesitate to call it an aggressive price, but we'll price it attractively. It's not going to be as high as Rs 1.5 lakh."
The e-scooter also has two riding modes – Eco and Sport – and it will have a reverse assist feature as well. Range is quoted at 85km and 95km in Sport and Eco modes, respectively. Bajaj points out that these figures were achieved through real-world testing within Pune city and that the ARAI test figures will be much higher.
The scooter has an in-built charger and the vehicle can be charged using a regular 5-ampere home power outlet. There will be no DC fast charging feature (Bajaj says the range is adequate enough to not require this feature) and a full charge will take around five hours. Bajaj says they will also sell a home-charging station at a ‘nominal cost’ and this charger will also show the amount of energy consumed during charging.
source: autocarindia
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Tata MotorsNSE -0.82 % on Tuesday reported 48 per cent decline in total sales at 36,376 units in September. The company had sold a total of...
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HIGHLIGHTS As Amazon is burning, the smell is of barbecue, of wood charcoal up in flames During the day the Sun, usually so fierce ...
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The Yogi Adityanath government has allotted Rs 447 cr for acquisition of 61 hectares in Ayodhya to house the world’s tallest 251-me...
